


Midwinter

by Ori_Cat



Category: Norse Religion & Lore
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Introversion, POV First Person, not quality fic, old fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-31 01:09:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13964091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ori_Cat/pseuds/Ori_Cat
Summary: In which not everybody likes feasts, but that's okay.





	Midwinter

There was no snowfall today, so whoever’s coming crunches as their footsteps break through the frozen crust. I step back against the wall. Don’t see me, don’t shame me for not being involved- 

“It’s cold out here.” 

Oh good, it’s Hel. I thought it was - well, really, anyone else. Anyone else who would tell me to get inside and be social with people, never mind how loud everyone else is being, never mind that I’ll get stepped on and pushed around and that I just don’t like people anyway. 

“That happens in winter, you know.” But either way, I pull out the edge of my cloak like a tent and she steps underneath and snuggles into me, pulls out her hair so that it drapes down outside over my arm. 

Of course, maybe she just complained to get me to make it warmer. Which I won’t. We need winter. 

“At least it’s not snowing, I guess,” she says. 

I lift up my left hand. “I can fix that, if you like.” Strictly speaking, the gesture doesn’t matter at all, but I still do it for teasing-her purposes. 

“Don’t you dare!” She elbows me, gently, in the ribs. It more tickles than hurts, and we both end up laughing. 

“What’s everybody up to inside?” I ask. 

“Oh, the usual.” She shrugs against my arm. “Dad’s drunk, your brothers appear to be having a dirty story contest-“ 

“- which ones?” Other people always say that, like they expect I can tell which out of the seven they’re talking about just with the words “your brother”. They do have names. Use them, please. 

“All of them, I think.” Actually, that sounds about right. My brothers are weird. Probably if I was weird like them I’d think they were normal 

Something tinkles, off to our left. Probably snow falling off a tree. She shivers and breathes into her hands, and when that evidently doesn’t work she sticks one on my neck. “You’re warm.” 

I’m not, really, because her hand doesn’t feel particularly cold. But I guess if she wants to use me as a hand warmer she can. 

Out in the forest, an owl calls. Hel takes her hand away. “Did you hear that?” 

“Tawny owl, from the sound of it.” I wait, and sure enough another owl responds. 

“You can tell what kind they are from the call?” 

“…yes?” 

“You’ve got good ears,” she says, and she leans over and plants a tiny kiss on my earlobe. 

I smack at it automatically. Baldur’s poked grass inside my ears too much by now. “Don’t kiss my ears.” 

“Okay,” she says. So she kisses my mouth instead. 

Her lips might not be warm, but they’re soft. She tastes like beer and streamwater, and her hair tickles on the back of my hand. 

When we stop - maybe slightly reluctantly, it was a nice kiss - my face burns. I pour cold into it, but that just makes my cheeks tingle. “Oh gosh, did anyone see us?” If they did, I’m never going to live this down. I might not anyway if anybody finds out. That is the big problem with having siblings. They tease you so much. Especially if you’re the youngest. 

“No, we’re fine,” she says. 

“I, um…” What am I supposed to do now? Or say? If I knew I was going to get kissed, I would’ve asked somebody first. And now I’m going to ruin everything by being awkward now. That’s.. pretty typical, actually. On the bright side, now that I have already screwed up my first kiss I don’t need to worry about doing it in future. 

That’s not really much of a bright side. 

“I know,” she says, and it’s her soft teasing voice. “I um you too.”


End file.
